


Mars

by eleasofia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Final Haikyuu Quest, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Archer Kageyama Tobio, Demon Oikawa Tooru, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10099598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleasofia/pseuds/eleasofia
Summary: He knew that he was an excellent archer, able to hunt down and shoot his own food ever since he had been a young boy. He knew the kingdom had been at war for centuries by now, although no one even seemed to remember what they were fighting for, only who they were fighting against. He knew that getting the demon king's head would make him the richest man alive; that he'd be set for life. He knew that he had nothing to lose, and that no one would miss him should he never return. The decision was a no-brainer.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedHoodedRobin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHoodedRobin/gifts).



> This fic was inspired by the song "Mars" by Sleeping At Last.
> 
> And it's also is a birthday gift, so happy birthday, my dear! ♡ It really isn't the best I can do; I'm pretty sure of that, and I'm absolutely not content with this fic, but I tried to do something new again and also to whip out something in time although I absolutely didn't feel like writing at all. It's also not shippy like.. at all.. there is like one hint or so. And although I actually wrote quite a lot compared to my usual shorter one shots, I still feel like I only managed to briefly touch on the subjects I was trying to thematise, so yeah, this is mostly supposed to make the reader think. I really hope you like it nevertheless! ♡♡♡

There wasn't much he knew, having grown up as an orphan, except for the few things he had picked up while hungrily roaming the streets, looking for something to eat and a place to stay the night. He'd perfected the art of stealing just enough food to fill his stomach for the day, but not enough to make the vendors notice. He was getting by.

He knew that he was an excellent archer, able to hunt down and shoot his own food ever since he had been a young boy. He knew the kingdom had been at war for centuries by now, although no one even seemed to remember what they were fighting for, only who they were fighting against. He knew that getting the demon king's head would make him the richest man alive; that he'd be set for life. He knew that he had nothing to lose, and that no one would miss him should he never return. The decision was a no-brainer. 

That was until he had wandered dark forests and badlands, scarred by the seemingly eternal war, for what could've been months, maybe years. He wondered for how long no human being had walked the paths he was striding through, or whether any human being had ever been here before. Legend has it that this land had once been wealthy and beautiful, but by looking at the remainders of what could've been a village only a long, long time ago, it was hard to imagine.

Civilisation had been pushed back to the far corners of the land, and now the people were living together too closely, epidemics were spreading fast and carrying off huge parts of the population on a regular basis, and food was always scarce, just as firewood in the winter. He had seen people starve or freeze to death way too often by now.

Wrath was welling up in him at these thoughts. It wasn't even like he had people he wanted to save or avenge, he just didn't want others to lead a life as miserable as his own. Just when he had finished climbing a hill and finally caught sight of the dark castle, he made a decision. He was going to kill the infamous and dreaded demon king; cost what it may. 

Full of resolution, he made his way over to the castle, which actually looked more like a monumental palace up close. Also, it didn't seem to have always been such a dark and inhospitable place, actually quite the contrary. For example, he could still see the debris of beautiful pavilions that had probably once stood among a sea of beautiful flowers in what he assumed to have been the royal garden. 

Something about this place was deeply solemn despite the severe destruction, and he couldn't help but stop and stare for a while. He had expected the castle to be heavily guarded and buzzing with life, so where was the king's retinue? Where were all the servants and sentinels? And where was the king? It was too quiet, and it felt like the lull before the storm. Something was wrong.

There was no way the castle was long abandoned, was there? The demon king had to be here, he had to be alive and doing his dark deeds. He internally prepared himself for the worst, something like an ambush, and slowly and silently made his way through the gardens until he reached a massive door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked, so he let himself in.

Inside the castle it was expectedly dark, but his night vision was honed from long nights out in the forests, stalking his prey. After a moment, his eyes got used to the new light conditions, and he carefully continued to walk down the hall. It was a long corridor without any doors to adjoining rooms. And it was still too quiet. In preparation for the worst he pulled an arrow out of the quiver on his back and readied himself for a counterattack. 

And then suddenly, he heard a loud thump followed by clattering. Quickly, he hid in a corner, listening carefully to locate the exact whereabouts of whoever had made the noise. However, all he heard was the beat of his own heart as well as his breathing, and a few muffled curses. He had to stifle a laugh. Whoever that was had probably just opened a cupboard and a few things had come flying their way. And whoever that was definitely didn't sound dangerous.

Of course, he couldn't let his guard down, but he dared to leave his hiding place and peek around the corner into the next corridor. His senses had not betrayed him, and standing not too far away was someone wrapped into a dark hooded cape, swearing at the mess on the floor consisting of what looked like pots and pans and other kitchen utensils. Yes, whoever that was definitely didn't look dangerous.

It probably wasn't a clever move, but he took a few more steps towards the person and cleared his throat to attract the other's attention. Obviously caught off guard the mysterious person turned to face him and accidentally let go of the pan they had been holding, causing it to fall to the floor once more. 

"Oh fuck, _Jesus_!" they cursed when the pan hit their foot and then turned to face Kageyama, "You scared the living heck out of me! Who are you even and what are you doing here?!"

This time Kageyama couldn't stifle a laugh, and he lowered his bow. In front of him stood a young man, who seemed to be around his age. Brown tufts of hair were falling over his forehead and framing his face nicely. He was definitely pretty, and also kind of cute.

"Don't laugh at me," the other replied with a frown and examined Kageyama from head to toe.

"I'm sorry," he replied when he had calmed down again, "I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Kageyama Tobio, and I'm here because I was told this was the demon king's castle, but it doesn't look like he's still living here anymore?"

A smile spread across the stranger's face. "Oh my, that's interesting. I thought humankind had long forgotten about the 'demon king'; it had been centuries already, hasn't it? Well then, _Tobio-chan_ , you may call me Oikawa, and if you'd like to join me for dinner, I will gladly tell you everything I know."

For a moment he cringed at the nickname, but then he decided to let it slide since he couldn't exactly expect someone living in this place to know the dos and don'ts of today's society. He also noticed that his stomach was rumbling and craving food, so he nodded in agreement, and followed Oikawa to the castle's kitchen. Fortunately, the food was almost done, so they sat down to eat and talk only minutes later.

"So does the demon king still live here or not?" Kageyama asked while greedily shoveling food into his mouth. 

"Hm," Oikawa started with a hum, tapping his fingers on the tabletop as he thought about it, "Why do you even want to find him?"

"Because the demon king has engulfed this whole land in misery when he started to wage a war against humanity centuries ago! My people are in sore distress, and the one who manages to kill him and to end the war gets to live on the fat of the land for the rest of their life!"

"I see, but I guess the important part about this is ending the war, right?" Oikawa asked at that, "Or are you doing this for the glory and the wealth?"

"I just want this war to end! But since the seemingly immortal demon king has brought this upon us-"

"I don't think whatever your people's legends say is the truth," Oikawa interrupted him, "Centuries ago the 'demons' had still been called spirits and lived peacefully in line with the humans. They had been equally respected and feared for their magic powers, but never used them to harm anybody, but only to help. Unfortunately, the king at that time died at a young age of a terrible illness, leaving behind his son, who wasn't of age to rule the kingdom just yet. That's why said prince ended up being merely a marionette of his advisers. They put a hex on him, so that he'd never be able to leave the castle again, and also started a war in his name, precipitating the whole land into ruin just because of their greed for money and power."

Kageyama had stopped eating and just stared at Oikawa wide-eyed, not sure whether he should believe the words or not. It was the first time he heard the story being told differently. "So you're telling me the demon king is only the scapegoat?"

Oikawa nodded deliberately. "The true evil is somewhere out there, disguised as a general who is only carrying out orders, while your so called 'demon king' has been hated and left to rot alone in a castle that once had been his home, but is nothing more than a ruin by now," he added, a sad look on his face.

It took a moment for Kageyama to full comprehend the words' meaning, but when he did, he jumped up and grabbed his bow, aiming at Oikawa, who was still sitting in front of him at the dinner table. To his surprise, he only smiled sorrowfully while slowly removing his hood. He revealed two horns, and now that the hood wasn't casting a shadow over his face anymore, Kageyama could see that his eyes gleamed red. He had imagined the demon king as an ugly old man, who looked evil upon the first glance, and never as a guy merely looking older than himself. Also, Oikawa's eyes lacked the viciousness he had always expected to see.

"Why should I believe you?!" Kageyama spat at Oikawa, eying him suspiciously, completely overwhelmed by the new course of events.

"If I wanted it, you'd be dead before you could even shoot your arrow. I already could've killed you more than a thousand times since you first entered my castle," Oikawa responded and laughed bitterly, "I've lost everything I have, and I wouldn't mind dying after having spent centuries here on my own; you'd actually do me a favour. But I haven't been able to make amends for what my kind has done to yours yet, and if you decide to believe me, maybe we can remind the people of the goodness in their hearts, and build a better life for everyone."

"That sounds exactly like something a liar would say," Kageyama replied, unsure whether or not he should believe the demon king's words, and grit his teeth. This was a conflict he hadn't been prepared for, and his mind couldn't come up with a solution. He had always only trusted his instincts, and now that he knew who he was talking to, they were screaming at him to shoot, but his first impression of Oikawa had been trustworthy and kind.

"I know, but a great liar knows that nothing sounds more unreliable than the truth," Oikawa responded with a grin, "Come on, shoot me or give me a shot."

Kageyama thought of his reason why he had come all the way to this castle, all the misery he had seen on his journey, all the grief and suffering he himself had been through, all the wrath and anger and thirst for vengeance in him. He had never had the chance to learn how to have mercy and compassion; no one had ever showed compassion or mercy on him after all. He didn't lower his bow.

"It's up to you, _Tobio-chan_ ," Oikawa said and closed his eyes, preparing for the impact, the smile never leaving his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo.. did he shoot or give him a shot? (I'm still so proud of this sentence tbh haha) :D


End file.
